Kudos to the Kiskers

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that I have not been very good at all about reading other people's blogs, let alone updating our own. Luckily, my sister-in-law Hollie is a creeper and always updates me on Brett and Hillary's blog. Today, I finally remembered to go look myself. I am always entertained by Brett and Hil's quick wits, but I found myself literally laughing out loud at Brett's post about Sam's Club. In fact, Jacoby stopped what he was doing, walked over to "read" the post, and immediately threw back his head and laughed as well. In fact, he is still (fake) laughing. (seriously...it's been several minutes). I wanted to say that I, as well, have become very talented at typing with one finger, which I am doing now. The difference is that the other hand is used to hold back Jacoby's sticky fingers from the keyboard or tickle him to keep him distracted. I will just start letting him write the posts himself. Surely, since he already composes his own symphonies, he can handle typing a couple of paragraphs (with correct grammar and conventions, of course). What do you think, Brett?

Monthly Post

Words we can count on Jacoby "saying" every day:
waffle
outside
thank you
you're welcome
Trish
tutu (Trish's dog)
please
hat
whoa!
dog
ouch
up
hey!
hi!
down
uh-oh!
ball
that
bye-bye!
nose
eye
Dora
map
mama
dada
help
on
off
open
other words that we have no clue what he is saying, but we hear them over and over
I love this age because you never know when he is going to repeat you and say something he has never said before. Whether or not he will repeat it for you is debatable...he is a child who is sure of what he wants.

A couple of cute/memorable moments:

• Trish brought Jacoby and Sam (2) up to a concert at school the other day, so I got to show him off a little. When we were talking afterwards, Jacoby walked over to Sam and put his arms around him to hug him. Sam leaned forward and kissed Jacoby on the head without any prompting at all. Then, a minute later, Jacoby puckered up and stood on his tiptoes so Sam leaned down and gave him a big smooch right on the lips. Sam has started following Jacoby to the door and blowing him kisses when I pick him up. Seeing how much Jacoby and Sam enjoy each other is by far one of the best things about bringing Jacoby to Trish.
• We saw our friend Meredith with her son Deacon and our neighbor Jan outside playing yesterday, so we stopped for a second on our way home from school. The ice cream truck happened to drive by, so Jan flagged him down and Jacoby had his first ever treat from an ice cream truck. Mere took a couple of pictures and they are on her website: http://www.meredithgutshall.blogspot.com/
• Jacoby got an inflatable pool from his Grandma and Grandpa Kisker for his birthday and some swim trunks. Since Zach is at state tennis, I started blowing it up last night. As we all know, nothing is as simple as it seems when you have a toddler all over the place. Jacoby was determined to help, and kept grabbing the rubber mouthpiece from me and trying to blow in it. I gave up after a while and went to fix him dinner. Next thing I know, I hear grunting and screaming in the hallway. Jacoby went back to his room and decided to bring the half-inflated pool into the living room to play with. Needless to say, he was stuck and grunting and pulling as hard as he could to move it anyway. Once I brought it into the living room for him, he started screaming and laughing and rolling around in it. It was practically the only thing he played with the rest of the night. He even lounged in it with his snack to watch Dora. I felt a little bad filling it with water this morning, but he ran over and jumped in right away, making me feel a little better. My favorite moment was when he picked up his bucket and carried it out of the pool. When he accidently dumped it, he looked at me with raised eyebrows and said, "uh-oh!!" and then turned to fill it back up. He kept pinching the water and then "dropping it" into the bucket. After about 2 minutes of this diligent work (and absolutely no water in the bucket) he leaned back his head and put the bucket to his mouth. He preceded to "drink" the water in the bucket and then looked at me and said, "Ahhh. MMMM!!!" like he was SO refreshed. Kids are so weird.

We are almost 28 weeks along with Zach Jr. #2. After school is out this week, I know the last 12 weeks are going to fly, especially with all of the stuff we have to do in the meantime. Let's hope we can get our basement turned into a play room, the guest room turned into Jacoby's room, and Jacoby's room turned into a baby room amidst tennis, summer school, and everything else. Keep your fingers crossed!

Between Jacoby being such a fun age and our 3 new nieces, it is bound to be the best summer yet. Can't wait! Now if we can only get through the last 4 days of school...

A couple more cute thing...

Jacoby's vocabulary is seriously exploding right now. Not that he says a lot of new words clearly, but he understands so much more of what we say. He can actually follow verbal commands now for many things without pointing and gesturing. Here is the cutest: A few nights ago, Jacoby was cuddling with me and winding down for bedtime. Then, Zach said, "Jacoby, are you ready for night-night?" Jacoby picked up his dog (Zoomer-the first stuffed animal he has ever cared about and definitely the first toy he has been attached to that is not a ball) and walked right back to his bedroom! I really wasn't expecting that, and I could tell Zach wasn't either by the look of disbelief on his face. Since then, Zach just asks him if he is ready and Jacoby picks up his things and runs back to his room. It is SO neat to see him growing up into a little man that communicates with us.

Finally, we brought Jacoby to meet his twin cousins last night. When we arrived at the hospital room, I handed the video camera over to Clint because Jacoby was immediately pointing at the babies and trying to get down to walk over to Hillary. We walked over next to the bed and Jacoby looked at them for just a second, and then blew a double kiss right at them! I think every person in that room said, "AWWW!" I asked if he could say hi to the babies and he waved with both hands at the same time. Now, maybe it was just a coincidence that he was doing everything with two hands, but it was pretty darn cute anyways. He is obviously very excited to get to know his cousins! Just another couple of weeks and he will have one more to add to the mix!

New Tricks

Go Aunty Em!

This is the beginning of his pouty face. It is shortly followed by a crinkled nose and a nasal whine.

Exhausted after our flat tire and using Hil's fingers to comfort himself to sleep

I just have to say, this picture proves that he is more of a spoofhound than a hornet!

Elise looks ready to listen!

Strainer or hat? Hard to tell sometimes.

One of these shoes may fit better than the other...but he will try them both anyway.

Just waxed it and gassed 'er up!

Jacoby's new tricks include:

• Fake screaming...it is very high pitched and usually comes out when someone "finds" him while we are playing



• Singing sort of...very soft and sweet and completely adorable. When we sing or he hears music, he usually waits until we are done and then copies us. I LOVE it!


• Dancing...his dance moves are expanding. There is more than arm swinging now, because we have twirling in circles and knee bends as well. In fact, I walked in on a dance party with the other toddlers at the sitter's the other day. Too cute!
  
  
• Words...his communication is expanding by leaps and bounds. The favorite word is still "that" when he points to things, but he has started repeating what we say quite frequently. He generally won't repeat it again after that, but it is still fun to listen to him. Today, in fact, he said, "no, no, no" back to me. It was a struggle not to laugh!
  
  
• Getting out of his Little Tike Cozy Coupe unattended...This is quite an accomplishment because it was such a frustration before for him to get his foot stuck! He still doesn't know how to push it forward, but he loves to sit in it and open and close the door



• Drinking whole milk out of a sippy instead of formula from a bottle...We started that about a month ago, so I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before.
  
• Sitting in a big boy chair...Jacoby now LOVES to sit in the recliner or any other adult seat. He puts his hands behind his back and just smiles. In fact, it is generally a sure-fire way to end his fussiness.

• Today, I would put my hand over his to get some food on his fork. Then, he did the cutest thing that any child in the entire world has ever done (maybe a biased opinion): he mimiced me and started pretending that his fork was an airplane. I hadn't even done it today! Really, I about died laughing. I will have to make sure I am recording next time just in case.


• More, but I can't remember it all right now.

I Didn't Want To Wait As Long As Last Time...

Because I am shamed by how long it took me to post anything the last few months, I am attempting to do it today while we are on SPRING BREAK and Jacoby is napping...although I should be picking up my house.

This morning, we went in for our ultrasound. It was originally supposed to be Wednesday after school so Zach could go, but once I realized that it was Spring Break, I called and fibbed (just a little) and said I could only do it on Monday morning of this week...because that is 2 less days of waiting.

I was disappointed with Jacoby's ultrasound that we found out we were having a boy and had to wait 30 minutes until we left to really react or say anything. I wanted to be able to go crazy. SO, we had the ultrasound technician write it on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. We went through the rest of the appointment but anxiously had it awaiting in my hands for the moment we got into the car. During the ultrasound, the technician kept saying, "Wow, this is one mobile baby. I can't get it to sit still for a picture." Really...she said it multiple times. I should have known then what had gotten ourselves into.

Finally, closing the car doors, we tore open the envelope and there was the phrase, "Its a boy" We screamed and looked at each other with wide eyes, but immediately, I am embarrassed to say that we began analyzing the note. First of all, the lady didn't even use correct punctuation by forgetting the apostrophe because "Its" in that sentence is showing a contraction, not possession. Second of all, there was no exclamation point or anything! If it were me, I would have put smiley faces and exclamation points all over the place! (Didn't she realize we would be putting it in a baby book to save for years and years???) Regardless, we were super excited. I cried just like I did when I found out Jacoby was a boy, because it suddenly becomes that much more real that there is a tiny child miraculously growing inside of me and no matter what I do, I am not in control of this child's life. What a relief to know that God is sovereign and I am not. Our kids could be in seriously trouble if I was.

We made our phone calls and stopped for lunch on the way home from Liberty, as well as a pit stop at T-Mobile so I could finally get a new phone. (That is an entirely different story...) When we picked up Jacoby, we told him he was going to have a little brother and he started laughing and throwing his head back and clapping even though he had absolutely NO IDEA what was going on. He was observant enough to realize that everyone else was excited, and that is all that matters when you want a reaction out of him.

I was so impartial to what gender I was hoping for. Of course, at some point, we want a girl. However, for Jacoby's sake, I so badly wanted a boy. I just keep thinking about how Jacoby and this baby will be close just like Zach is close with his brother. They can share a room and sleep in bunk beds. We also realized that if/when we do have a girl, she will have 3 examples of Godly men in her family instead of just 2. Zach may have his doubles team and Jacoby will luckily have at least one boy to be buddies with since every other baby in the family will be girls!

I think I am rambling at this point, but you should know that I am suddenly very self-conscious of my grammar and typos since I criticized the ultrasound technician. So, please don't judge me if I make a mistake. :)

Craziness

Well, I have decided that the busier your child gets, the less time you have to keep up with a blog. So, you can see that as he started crawling there were less, and then when he started walking a couple weeks ago, I realized I would rarely be on here again. For one thing, he immediately walks over (amazingly quick when he sets his mind on something) and is reaching for the computer. With added size comes added challenges, as we cannot just hold the laptop a little farther back on our laps anymore. There is no safe zone in our house: nothing is off limits, even the power button on our tv. It is now impossible to watch a tv show unless he is asleep...or unless we want to turn the tv back on amidst giggles and pleased looks over his shoulder every few minutes. Brett told us that there is a power button guard for the tv to use as a part of baby proofing and we knew immediately it was something to invest in. In the meantime, LOST and American Idol are viewed after bed time.

As you can tell, Jacoby is now a walking machine. He was taking a few steps at a time off and on, but if he wanted to get somewhere he reverted to crawling to travel quickly. Then, a couple of weeks ago, he one day decided that he didn't want to crawl anymore and walked all the way from his bedroom into the kitchen, turning corners and everything. I about passed out. He is now constantly roaming up and down the hallway and in circles around the kitchen.

Jacoby is becoming quite the talker, although nothing actually sounds like a real word with the exception of momma, dada, and things that we make into words. He will occasionally mimic what we say and sound pretty close, but it all depends on the mood he is in because our chid is kind of a stinker. We can tell he is watching everything that is going on around him. He holds phones to his ear, remotes pointed at the tv, turns the pages of his books (although he always wants to close the book so we will say, "The End!") He recently started keeping a hat on his head for a few minutes at a time before he takes it off to play with it. He claps at absolutely everything, especially at basketball games and even when the other team scores. Overall, we have a very happy and healthy kid...who is a little stingy at times.

We got a new tooth last week, so we are now up to 7. Jacoby can eat most finger foods, although fruit is still a little tricky with its slippery texture. He doesn't seem to like or dislike anything more than others, although when the gerber spaghetti isn't heated up enough he makes an absolutely terrible face. Of course, he comes back for more just a few seconds later, proving once again that he really will eat anything. Eating regular food hasn't stopped him from eating paper, socks, and every other miscellaneous item he can find...although we are improving.

We have a very solid routine, which makes me appreciate my considerate husband even more. Zach gets Jacoby up and ready every morning, which is wonderful although it can lead to disaterous clothing choices at times. (For instance, a maroon shirt with navy pants and red socks.) Then, Jacoby comes into our room and sits next to me as I put on makeup. He immediately digs for the blush brush and rubs it all over his head, and then does the same thing with the hair brush. Some day, we will embarass him by telling his friends that one of his favorite things was my make-up. Another thing I appreciate is the way Zach has stepped up even more since we found out we are expecting again. The morning sickness came back like clock work, and since your sense of smell is heightened during pregnancy, diaper duty has become a little trickier. Somehow, I have not changed a single dirty diaper since 7 weeks, which was 7 weeks ago. I did attempt to tough it out twice, which ended in a cry for help and a trip to the bathroom. I am sure I will be making up for the work I am missing out on when the new baby is here and a diaper change sometimes requires two diapers because they dirty the new one the second you put it on them.

Jacoby hits the big 1 year mark on March 9th. Our baby is no longer a baby! It's amazing to us that a year ago, we would imagine what his disposition would be and whose features he would have. Now we see that he has his momma's eyes and his daddy's everything else. We know what makes him belly laugh and what scares him, and can predict all of the ornery things he is going to do before they even happen. Being a parent has proved to be even more of a blessing that we imagined it would be. A friend from Paxton recently adopted their second child and she often says that no matter how motherhood comes to you, it's a miracle. We have seen that to be true over and over again in the past couple of years in the lives of our friends and by raising Jacoby. We can only imagine what life will bring with this next little one. Can't wait!

Approaching 10 months

Jacoby is now 9 1/2 months old and has enjoyed his very first Halloween, Thanksgiving, and most recently Christmas and New Years. Since his first step, he has taken several single steps but always prefer crawling because he can do it so quickly!
Recently, Jacoby talked on the phone with my mom and then I took the phone back and talked to her myself. As I was talking, I looked over and saw him holding a travel size shampoo bottle to his ear like he was holding a phone! What a smart kid! Since then, he will often hold a phone to his ear and babble. It's so fun to watch him learn things just through everyday interaction.

Jacoby received a snowsuit from Grandma and Grandpa Keith for Christmas so we took advantage and bundled him up for the snow. Zach pulled him around in a sled for several minutes and I envisioned future winters because if Zach was having THAT much fun when Jacoby didn't even really know what was going on, how much MORE fun would it be when Jacoby is having a blast as well?? I'm glad Jacoby has a dad that wants to roll around in the snow with him so that I don't have to.

Jacoby is cruising and eating some new table foods. He wants to try everything we have for meals and the more he likes it, the more he dances. In fact, the most danncing we have seen was when Jacoby experienced his first taste of Pagliais buffet. I don't know if I've ever been prouder.

I tried to upload pics but our computer won't let me. Sorry for the inconvenience.